1) Field of the Invention
The invention herein relates to a mouse pad fabrication method in which cork tree bark serves as a raw material that undergoes foreign matter purging and pulverization, blending thereafter with glue, press forming, trimming to a required thickness, and rough edge removal to complete a finished product.
2) Description of the Prior Art
Conventional mouse pads are typically constructed of a plastic raw material that is press formed or foam-fabricated, following which a surfacing is attached. However, since virtually all mouse pads produced by the said fabrication methods are of plastic construction and their surfaces are dense and non-porous, dust settles on the pad surfaces such that when a mouse (referring to a mechanical, semioptical unit) is moved, dust clings to the rubber roller wheel inside the mouse, accumulating on the rollers as the roller wheel revolve and thereby distorting the roller axis, eventually causing the roller wheel and roller to slip during contact, resulting in the mouse malfunctioning to the extent that computer screen cursor movement is no longer possible, with such buildups also reducing mouse service life.
To remedy the said problem, there are pads constructed of cork according to conventional cork veneer fabrication methods such as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,103 “Method for Making Cork Wall Covering”, the said method comprised of the following procedures:
a) Placing a sheet of backing material onto one side of a sheet of cork with a thermoplastic adhesive being disposed therebetween.
b) Adhering said backing material to said sheet of cork to form a two-ply sheet by subjecting said material to preselected temperature and pressure for a preselected period of time.
c) Flexing said sheet of cork and backing material by stress relieving sequentially each side of said two-ply sheet.
d) Coating the opposite side of said cork sheet with a mixture of a polyester resin adhesive and a curing agent for said polyester resin.
e) Placing a sheet of facing material onto said side of cork sheet including said polyester resin adhesive.
f) Adhering said facing material to said cork to form a three-ply sheet by subjecting said material to preselected temperature and pressure for a preselected period of time.
g) Cooling said three-ply sheet to a preselected temperature.
Based on the preceding disclosure, the said method consists of utilizing different property adhesives to respectively adhere the backing material and the facing material onto the cork sheet and then pressing the three plies together at a certain temperature and pressure. However, since the cork covering fabricated by the said method involves laminating the cork in between the backing material and the facing material, dust can still settle on the facing material and result in difficult mouse movement. Furthermore, since the cork, the backing material and the facing material are all adhesively conjoined together, the said backing material and facing material can still possibly separate from the cork.
Additionally, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,899 discloses a “Cork-resin Ablative Insulation for Complex Surfaces and Method for Applying the Same”, with the procedures of the said method claimed as follows:
a) Mixing finely divided cork with a B-stage curable thermosetting resin, said resin comprising 20 to 60 weight percent of the mixture.
b) Forming the resulting mixture into a block.
c) B-stage curing the resin-containing block by heating at a temperature of 280° F. to 320° F. for a period of at least about 15 minutes.
d) Cutting the B-stage cured block into sheets.
e) Draping the resultant sheet material over said substrate or a surface corresponding in shape thereto.
f) Enclosing the resulting assembly in a vacuum bag.
g) Evacuating said bag.
h) Further curing the resultant shaped sheet material by heating said sheet material at a temperature of 280° F. to 320° F. for at least 30 minutes.
In the said method, although the resin and the cork are mixed together and then worked into the require shape by high temperature curing and sheet slicing, rough edges occur when cutting into sheets. As such, additional finishing is required after the completion of the curing procedure, which not only wastes time and effort, but leaves uneven barb-like edges that cut the hands.